


Got a Weak Heart

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: Don't Let's Start [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Mind Control, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 08:11:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13830069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: ...and one time the team helped Ryou.Or: The Galra had ways of making sure their prisoners obeyed.  The team finds this out the hard way.Part of the Great Ryou Exchange with VelkynKarma





	Got a Weak Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VelkynKarma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelkynKarma/gifts).



> And here we are, at the last, 'official' part of Don't Let's Start. I still plan on writing in this verse, baring S5 completely destroying my ability to write it. They will be in the 'Adjacent' side-series rather than part of the main action.

“Ryou!” Shiro called, voice tense.  He ducked around the door frame and sent off another volley of shots down the hall.  Between the lack of sight and the stolen, unfamiliar gun, Shiro couldn’t really aim, but he didn’t need to.  The hallway was densely packed with oncoming drones, so just about every shot hit something.

Two of the sentries in the front went down, crashing to the floor in a heap.  The ones directly behind them stumbled over the sudden obstacle, then the one behind that, then the ones behind that.  A traffic jam of robots.

Unlike on Earth, that jam wasn’t likely to last long.

Shiro ducked back to one side of the door and shot Ryou an impatient glance.  He was wrist-deep in the electronics of the door, and seemed to be absorbed in what he was doing.  “Ryou!  How long?”

“Less if you shush,” Ryou snapped back.  “I’ve just about got it.”

Shiro winced, then fired off another round.  He hit one sentry in the shoulder, blasting off the fragile joint, but it didn’t slow down the bot at all.  A return shot whizzed past his head, only barely missing Shiro’s scalp.  “We have less than a minute.”

Groaning, Ryou nodded.  “Yeah, I’ve- right.”  He suddenly pulled back and reached down.  His bayard appeared in his hand and, in a flash of light, turned into the same claws Yellow sported.  Then he jammed his fist into the mechanics, eyes squeezed shut.

The door slammed shut just as the lights faded from the side.

Shiro dropped his arms and let out a sigh.  “That’ll hold?”

“Should.  Maybe.”

“You couldn’t have started with that?”

Ryou rolled his eyes and reverted his bayard back down.  Bits of wire dropped as the weapon vanished.  “No, I couldn’t have. I had to reprogram the emergency protocol to lock instead of open.  Then I could punch it.”  A loud  _ clang _ interrupted him.  “And it won’t last forever.”

That, Shiro knew all too well.  He made a face and nodded.  “Alright.  You start with download.”  He patted Ryou on the back and nodded to the central computer console, which took up a solid half of the room.  “I’ll look through the rest of the storage and see if anything turns up.”

“Right.”  Ryou glanced at the door, wincing as another shot impacted the door.  He worked the fingers of his Altean arm.  The blue lights on the side warmed to purple, pulsing brightly.

It had been explained to Shiro before the mission that Pidge and Hunk had elected to keep certain, very specific bits of coding from Ryou’s first prosthesis.  Interfacing with Galra technology was a valuable ability, especially since Shiro could be detected and locked out.  After Ryou’s stunt with the bounty hunters, they knew most Galra were unaware of him, so he had better chance of getting into the system.

This was the first test of that theory.

Worse came to worse, they were locked out of the computer and they made a run for it.  Voltron was waiting outside the base, attacking any ships and making a general fuss, with the castle as back-up.

Shiro still found himself watching anxiously, stomach twisting at the purple lights casting deeper shadows on Ryou’s face.  The color looked strange on him.

There was no time for that, though.  Shiro busied himself in the storage boxes and drawers, looking for any kind of data drives they could take with them.  The room became suddenly brighter, as the computer was activated.

“I’m in,” Ryou drawled dramatically.  “After today, I need a cool hacker name.”

Shiro didn’t even look up, snorting into the drawer.  “Like what?”  No papers, no drives, but a whole lot of what looked suspiciously like paper clips chained together.  Whoever worked at this station must have been bored.

“Uh, well, something white, right?  Maybe ice related.”  Metal clicked against metal as Ryou started to hook up Pidge’s drive to the console.

“Snowflake is out.  You’re not unique enough.”

Ryou let out a snort.  “Damn, that was going to be my first choice. Look at you with the clone jokes.  I’m getting to you.”

“You got it from me,” Shiro said.

“No, I got it from Hun- Ah!”

The light of the room went red, and there was a loud, computerized screech..  

Immediately, Shiro turned and jumped to his feet, bayard held tightly in his hand.  “Ryou?”

There was no reply.  Ryou was curled around his right arm like it was hurting him.  His head hung limply, pale bangs hiding his eyes, and his teeth were gritted in something like a snarl.  No matter how hard he yanked on his arm, it didn’t come loose.

Shit.  

The screen flashed Galra writing, and Shiro recognized the chain of symbols that served as numbers, with a dash in the middle.  A prisoner number, one that didn’t look like his.

So much for their hope.

“Ryou?”  Shiro called again.  He stepped over and reached out his hand to help pull Ryou away from the console.

But Ryou’s head snapped back, skin pale, eyes round and wild.

Scared.

“Shi-”

The screen let out a crackle of electricity.

Ryou gave a loud cry of pain as his eyes rolled back in his head.  He teetered, then slumped forward.

Cursing, Shiro took the last step forward and caught his brother before he crashed to the floor.  The force of his weight made Shiro stumble, and he only barely managed to keep them both up.  “Ryou?  Ryou!”  

There wasn’t even a twitch.

Shiro’s heart pounded frantically. He glanced at the door again, wincing at each concussive shot. The metal was starting to bend and give, enough that Shiro could see movement where the door no longer met the frame properly.

They had minutes at best.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked over the comms.  “Do you need us?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t know if we can get back to our ship,” Shiro replied.  He slowly lowered Ryou down, carefully to support his head.  "We may need an extraction."

"Understood," Keith replied.  There was a strain to his voice.  "It may take a bit to break apart Voltron, but we'll be there soon."

Shiro swallowed hard, eyes on the already buckling door.  "I'll keep you updated.  Go fast."

There were a round of affirmatives, all tense.

Okay, Shiro needed to get them both somewhere safe.  If he could pull Ryou with him behind cover, he might be able to buy them at least a few more seconds.  While the drones wouldn't hesitate to shoot, they were probably under orders to capture intruders.  That might give them a little more-

The firing stopped.

Shiro turned to stare at the door, startled.  But then he scrambled forward, getting his arms under Ryou's shoulders and knees.  This was an opportunity, though the sudden silence made Shiro nervous.

But then there was a shudder, and a screech.  Dozens of metal fingers forced their way between the edge of the door and the wall.  The whole thing shook, and then started to move, inch by slow inch.

The metal hadn't broken open, but the mechanism that kept the door in place must have failed.  Noticing that was a level of intelligence that Shiro didn’t associate with mere bots.

Shiro pulled Ryou closer to his chest and looked around, desperate for anywhere he could dive that would give them cover.  There was no space behind the monitors and machines, the desk was at the wrong angle to block them from the door, the cabinets were on the far side of the room-

With a final shove, the door clattered open.  One figure stepped through, broader and taller than the robots, and dressed in commander armor.  Her face darkened upon seeing both of them, lips pulled back.  It stretched the scars on her face, especially the thick, ropy one that surrounded a cybernetic eye.  "Ah.  So you're the trouble we've been having."  Her remaining eye looked Shiro up and down, and then settled on Ryou.  Slowly, she began to smile.  "But we have traps for vermin like you."

Shiro settled Ryou back on the ground, then gave one last hopefully down.  His face was still slack and blank.

At least he wasn't in pain anymore.

If Shiro had anything to say about it, Ryou would wake up back in a lion.

So he stood slowly and activated his arm, stepping in front of his brother.  "What did you do to him?"

The commander tilted her head, her long floppy ears swaying with the movement.  "Our High Priestess suspected that a base like mine might eventually draw your attention.  She provided some information on how to contain you."  

Shit.  Shit shit  _ shit. _

As she spoke, more bots started to enter the room.  Half a dozen of them fanned out, guns up and ready.  The commander, however, didn't even take her blaster off the holster.

Arrogance.  That was something Shiro could use.  He took another step forward, trying to keep their attention on him and away from Ryou.  

For now, Shiro needed to keep her talking.  

"That doesn't answer my question.  What did you do to him?"

"You should worry more about what we'll do to you both," the commander said back.  "It's a rare day we're able to get such interesting specimens for weapons testing, after all.  Especially such well behaved ones."

Shiro's brows raised, and he settled into a ready stance.  "You really think I'm going to listen to you?"

The commander's smile grew.  "As you are now?  No, of course not.  Restrain him."

Tensing, Shiro's eyes darted over each of the robots, waiting for them to come forward.  These six he could fight, but more would be a problem-

Someone grabbed Shiro left wrist from behind, twisting it painfully up and behind his shoulders.

Automatically, Shiro kicked back. His heel hit something sturdy, sending the person crashing to the floor and freeing his arm.  Then he whirled around, ready to defend himself.

Only to see Ryou picking himself off the floor, a scuff on his chest from where he'd been kicked.

Shiro's heart stuttered.  "Ryou-"

There was no blink, no look, no recognition.  No expression.

Ryou charged forward, arm up and lit, head down.  No attempt to go for his bayard or pull up a shield.

Like Shiro would fight when pushed into a corner.

Shiro got his arm between them just in time, his flickering out.  It took the blow from Ryou's in a shower of sparks.  Shiro felt the heat of the Altean arm, still glowing with purple lights, for the first time aimed at him with the intent to kill.

"Ryou!  What are you doing?"

Over the comms, there were several cries of surprise and alarm.  

"Woah, what's going on?" Lance asked.  “Why did Voltron fail?”

"Sorry, sorry!" Hunk cried, voice tight.  "I can't- Yellow suddenly started to pull.  He's freaking out."

Shiro's stomach dropped.

"Shiro?" Allura called.  "What's happening over there?"

Pulling back, Ryou ducked to the side, trying to come at Shiro from a new angle.  It forced Shiro to turn with him, until he could see the robots and the commander again.  She had a hand up, a signal for them not to shoot.

Considering her plans, she probably didn't want her future test subjects killed.

For the first time, the reality of that hit.  Both of them experimented on again, held prisoner, made playthings for their captor's curiosity  _ yet again. _

They had to get out of here.

"Something happened-"  Shiro ducked another blow, stepping backwards, and then to the side.  The whole time he kept his arm up, but he never returned a blow.  Ryou followed him relentlessly, swiping and striking constantly.    

So long as Shiro was on the defensive under so many blows, he couldn't spare any concentration.

Gritting his teeth, he planted his feet and blocked a blow from Ryou's arm.  This time, Shiro held his place, bracing against the force.

Ryou's expression didn't change.  He was still as blank and lifeless as a doll, gaze focused entirely on Shiro.  Without even blinking, he broke away again and shifted his weight back on his back leg.

He was fighting on autopilot, the way his memories from Shiro would have.

But Shiro had spent hours sparring with Ryou.  He knew how he moved, was able to predict and work with him seamlessly in battle.

So when Ryou lashed out with a kick, Shiro was already prepared for it.  He got his arm under Ryou's leg, right at the elbow, and shoved him up.  The kick went wild over Shiro's shoulder as Ryou's balance was knocked off.

Shiro returned the kick, aiming for Ryou's leg.

But he saw that coming and jumped up, letting the blow sail under him.  He landed with better balance, swinging his already up heel right back down onto Shiro's neck and head.

Shiro hit the ground hard.  His ears rang as he scrambled against the metal floor, trying to push himself back up.

Before he could, Ryou was on him.  He planted his knee into Shiro's back and shoved him back down, then grabbed a wrist in each of his hands.  Thankfully, he’d deactivated his own arm, so Shiro wasn’t missing his skin.  Ryou pressed them between Shiro's shoulder blades, ignoring or not the cry of pain.

Then he stilled.  Waiting.  When Shiro squirmed, he pressed down harder, but otherwise didn't react.

"Remove his helmet," the commander called, sounding deeply amused.

Rather than move his hands, Ryou twisted in place and kicked the side of Shiro's head.  Pain throbbed again.  Shiro's helmet rolled away several feet, stopping when it hit the console.

Shiro tried to push up again, but without the metal arm for leverage Ryou was too heavy to move comfortably.  He had no room to maneuver, and his bucking did nothing.

The whole thing was surreal.  Shiro blinked at the wall, trying to comprehend what was happening.  It couldn't be Ryou over him right now.  Their various tech crews had spent hours upon hours crawling through every bit of data they had on the arms, old and new.  Ryou wasn't even using a Galra arm.  That was where the problem had been from.  Haggar shouldn't be able to do anything to him.

This had been a possibility, on some level.  But Shiro had stopped worrying about it for Ryou.  It had already happened, and they'd figured it out and fixed it.  Shiro was the one with the dangerous element still attached to him.

"Put his hand on the console," the commander said.  She moved farther into the room, standing next to the monitors to watch.  "You two can fight again later when you'll both actually try."

Shiro's whole body went cold.

"No," he breathed.  "Ryou.  Ryou, listen.  You can't- don't do this, you don't want to.  I know you don't.  Ryou-"

No reaction.  Ryou took his weight off of Shiro's back, and instead started to drag him along by the arms.

But he made no effort to defend himself, now.  His stomach and chest were completely open to blows, and he left Shiro's legs unbound.

The commands didn't stack, then.  Or, at least, recent ones took precedence over others.  Ryou had been told to put Shiro's hand on the console, and he was going to do that in the most efficient way possible.

Shiro was dragged across the floor, until the back of his head hit the console.  Ryou shifted his grip, flipping Shiro's hand over until the palm was facing down.

"I'm sorry," Shiro breathed, eyes closed.

He folded him on himself, then kicked out hard with both legs.  His feet hit Ryou in the stomach, sending him clean off his feet.  He tumbled to the ground and rolled several times before he caught himself.

Immediately, Shiro shot up, his arm already on.  Before anyone could react, he turned around and sank his glowing fist into the computer console.

"No!"  The commander bared her teeth and finally drew her weapon.  "Fine, one is enough.  Kill him!"

Apparently, this time the command was for the robots.  They focused their weapons on Shiro-

Just as the floor gave a sickening jolt.

Everyone in the room was thrown off their feet.  Shiro landed on his side, grunting with pain from the impact.  His head throbbed anew.  

Squirming, Shiro got close enough to his helmet to grab it and put it on.  "Ryou's compromised!" He called.  "Was that you, Hunk?"

"Yeah, figured something was up," Hunk managed.  It sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth.  "We're coming to you."

There was a roar at that, both over the comms and more faintly to Shiro's right.

Before he could do anything else, Shiro was grabbed by the shoulder.  Ryou physically lifted him, then slammed Shiro's chest down against the broken computer.  In the same movement, he snagged Shiro's wrist and pressed it right where his fist had gone through.  Then he held it there.

Still following the last order he'd been given, it seemed.

There was a snarl from behind them.  "You idiot.  You're in the way, move!"

Ryou let go to pull away.  But Shiro flipped around and grabbed him by the armor, holding on with all his might.

For one moment, he was able to clearly meet Ryou's eyes.  There was still nothing in there, no sigh of his brother in the automation he'd become.

Shiro's stomach rolled.  "I'm sorry about this," he said.

He wrapped his legs around Ryou to keep him in place.  Then he brought both hands up and brought them down hard on either side of Ryou's ears.

For the first time, Ryou reacted.  His face twisted in pain as he continued to try and pull away, but both hands came up to his ears.  

Shiro rolled with him, sending them both crashing to the floor.

Once on the ground, Ryou curled up, still tightly covering his ears.   He didn't protest or fight as Shiro bundled him up in his arms - Ryou had moved, after all, and he'd obeyed his order.

The commander groaned again.  Clearly, she was frustrated at the limitations of Haggar's work.  "Get him!"  She called, and fired a shot.  It missed by inches as Shiro scrambled  away.

This time, there was no reaction.  Ryou stayed still and limp in Shiro's arms, unable to hear the orders through the ringing in his ears and the hands covering them.

"Brace yourself!" Hunk called.

There was another jolt, but Shiro had been expecting it.  While the commander and robots stumbled, he kept his feet, and used the distraction to reach down and pull out his bayard.

"How long?" He asked.

"I'm almost on you," Hunk said.  "You ready?"

Shiro set his jaw.  "I am."  He tightened his grip on Ryou, who finally started to pick up his head again, hands dropping away.  Then Shiro activated his bayard.

"Kill him!"  The commander snarled.  "All of you, kill him!"

The robots fired, as did the commander.

But all their bullets hit the metal feathers of Shiro's bayard wings, which curled around to protect them both.  They hummed, identical in look to the Black Lions when fully active.

There was another grunt over the comms.  "Now!"

Shiro jumped.

The wings snapped out, then gave a single, strong flap.  It was enough to keep Shiro airborne for just a second or two longer, even with Ryou weighing him down.

Then, the walls ripped apart as a huge, yellow lion burst through, mouth open in another world-shaking roar.

Below them, the floor gave, and the air started to rush out of the room through the hole the Yellow Lion and created.  The robots were sucked through first, loosing the their footing and clanging against the walls and flooring as they were yanked through sheets of torn metal.  The commander held on longer, bracing herself against the computer as her long, fluffy ears whipped.  Around Shiro, the entire base seemed to rotate as it listed to the side.  Broken pieces of metal and robot whirled through the air.

In the chaos, Shiro hung in place as if he was in open space, clutching his brother closely. 

Yellow lunged forward, jaw opening even wider, until the mouth closed around them both.

Shiro flapped the wings again, bringing them to the floor.  Then they deactivated, and gravity suddenly rushed back onto Shiro at full force.  He crashed to his knees, letting Ryou spill to the floor.

"What's going on?" Hunk asked.  "Is Ryou okay?  Is he hurt again?"

Panting, Shiro shook his head.  "Get back to the castle. They did-"

His voice air cut off as hands wrapped around his throat.

Ryou forced Shiro back down to the floor, pinning him with his weight.  His eyes were narrowed, but otherwise his gaze was blank and serious.

Bucking, Shiro tried to gasp for air, but he got nothing.  

The last order Ryou had heard had been the one to kill Shiro.

"Shiro?  What did they do?"  There was a pause, and then footsteps.  "Shiro?  What's- Quiznak!"

Shiro strained his head back just enough to see the Hunk's face.  He was at the base of the ramp to the cockpit, expression frozen in horror.

Suddenly, the pressure released on Shiro's throat.  He took a deep, greedy breath and returned his focus on Ryou-

Who had his metal arm back and glowing, prepared for a blow.

Shiro reached up, lightning fast, and caught the glowing wrist with his own prosthesis.  "Help!"  He said, voice a rasp.  "Stop him!"

Ryou yanked away, trying to get his hand back-

Just as something large and heavy caught him in the side of the head.

Ryou went down like a sack of bricks.  He slumped to the side, his eyes closed and utterly limp.

Out cold from one good hit.

"Good job," Shiro managed.  He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked over at Hunk.

Eyes wide, Hunk dropped his hand.  At his side, it shook slightly.  "Was Ryou- was he going to...?"

Shiro nodded and slammed his eyes shut.  "Yeah.  He was."

"Why?"

Stomach sinking, Shiro swallowed hard.  He looked at Ryou, unconscious of the floor, bleeding from a head wound.  They were going to have to get him to a pod right away.

Just looking made Shiro’s heart clench.

"Help me tie him up.  Then I'll explain."

***

"Hey."

Shiro looked up and offered Keith a thin smile.  "Hey."  He put his hand on the wall and forced himself to his feet, ignoring the way his muscles protested.  All in all, Shiro had come out of that fight in far better shape than he had any right to.  He was going to have some nasty bruises tomorrow, including around his throat, but he was otherwise fine.

A part of Shiro wanted to believe it was because Ryou hadn't wanted to hurt him.

The more realistic answer was that Ryou had been told to restrain him and kill him, not to wound him.  He only went so far as he was ordered.

Keith looked him over, lips pulled down.  "If you want, you can go in the pod.  We're going to put Ryou in one in a bit, too.  Better than sitting in the hallway."

"How is he?" Shiro asked, otherwise ignoring the question.  "Did they get the arm off?"

Sighing, Keith closed his eyes.  "Yeah.  It wasn't easy.  He kept trying to- get out.  But once you were gone long enough he calmed down again, and then Pidge and Hunk just popped it off."

Shiro took a deep breath.  "But if it fixed the problem, you'd have started with that."

"Yeah."  Keith winced and glanced back at the door to the pod room.  "They're trying to figure out why, now.  Whatever it is, they think it might be temporary.  Like, it just jolted something through him and it has to wear off, now."

Maybe.  Might.  Nothing concrete.  Shiro's stomach rolled with a complicated mixture of hope and dread.  Somehow, he didn't think Haggar did temporary.

"The commander tried to get him to use the console on me, too," he said.  "So it sounds like they thought it would work on both of us.  It might not be mechanical at all."

Keith's eyes widened.  "Oh.  You should-"  He winced.  "Write down what she said, maybe.  I can give it to them, or you can send them a message."

Yeah, going inside to tell them was probably a bad idea.  Shiro nodded, lips pressed thin, and his eyes firmly on the door to the pod room.

"Let me know when he's in the pod, will you?"  Shiro asked.  He tried to keep his tone even, but it pitched up, getting smaller.  Swallowing hard, Shiro took a deep breath and continued.  "And when he'll get out, just in case.  But I'd like to know when I can see him."

"I think if you give it ten minutes you'll be okay," Keith said.  He finally stepped forward and put his hand on Shiro's shoulder.  "We'll figure this out.  We've got the smartest people we know on this.  Haggar can't stand up to that."

A smile pulled at the corner of Shiro's lips.  "Yeah.  You're right."  He put his hand on top of Keith's and squeezed.  "Thanks."

"No problem."  Keith gave his shoulder a squeeze, not pulling back yet.  "Seriously, how are you doing?"

"Save your worry for Ryou."

Keith's eyes hardened.  "Ryou has the entire team looking out for him right now.  But you think he'd happy about you stewing out here?"

Jaw set, Shiro shrugged his shoulders.  "Well, I'm not happy he tried to kill me.  So, you know, we're even."  But under Keith's steady look, he sighed.  "Look, I'm not- I'm not great.  I didn't-"  He cut off, forcing himself to breathe slowly.  "He'd hate this.  I hate this.  He-"  There weren't words for the blank look on Ryou's face as he tried to strangle Shiro.

In the months since Shiro had come back, he'd gotten used to seeing Ryou's face full of life.  It had been disconcerting, at first.  Shiro played his cards closer to the chest, preferring to put on a professional air.  That had become even more important as he became the Black Paladin and needed to seem calm and in control even when the world was at its most chaotic.

Ryou, though, had thrown that all out an airlock with a grin.  It was still baffling, how he was able to pivot and adapt the way he had.  From conversations with Keith, Shiro knew that it wasn't entirely by choice.  Ryou had been told that he couldn't be Shiro from the moment he'd found out he wasn't the original.  So he'd just- changed.

Changed into someone who smiled wide and often, who made faces with Lance when they were bored, who stuck out his tongue and allowed himself to be childish.  Shiro could do those things, but Ryou didn't hold himself at arm's length.  Despite being the clone, Ryou was the  _ brighter  _ twin.  Vivacious.  Freer.

Now, in just a few seconds, that had been completely stamped out.  Ryou wasn't even Shiro, now.  He was no one.  He was a machine.

It was the opposite of what he'd become, and Shiro  _ hated _ it.

"He'll be pissed when he wakes up," Keith agreed.  "But he'll be more pissed if you don't take care of yourself."

Probably.  Shiro shrugged one shoulder.  "It's barely been an hour.  I haven't had time to neglect myself."

"Then why don't you go into a pod?"

Shiro sighed.  "Because it's not useful.  And, honestly?  I don't want to be stuck in my dreams right now."

Eyes wide, Keith nodded.  "Oh."  He let his hand drop and nodded.  "Yeah.  Okay."

"Thank you so much for your permission."  Shiro paused, then winced.  "Sorry.  You're right.  I just-"

"It's a little raw to be trying to turn your lectures around, yeah."  Keith managed a smile.  "Want me to check in to see if you can look?"

Shiro nodded, his heart rate picking up again.

With that, Keith ducked back inside the room.  A few seconds later, the door opened again, and he gestured for Shiro to step through.

The first thing Shiro spotted was Ryou.  He was standing in the pod, head tilted down, still wearing that same blank expression.  With the rest of him limp, it was easy to read it as simple unconsciousness, rather than the horrible lack of self it had been.  Like Keith said, his right arm ended above the elbow, now.  Ryou's had a port, rather than Shiro's permanent arm, though he'd never seen it without the attachment.  Even on that occasion they'd slept in the same bed, Ryou had left it on.  

Had it been because Ryou didn't take it off, either from habit or desire?  Or had it been out of solidarity?

Shiro couldn't ask, now.  Wouldn't be able to until this was fixed.

The rest of the team was all gathered around Pidge's computer.  Ryou's arm was on the table in front of them, hooked up to her laptop, with one trailing wire plugged up into Curiosity.  Shiro stepped over, trying to peer over the mass of shoulders.  "You found something?"

Pidge glanced over and offered a twitch of her lips, not quite a smile.  It lasted less than a second before her eyes were back on her computer.  "Not yet.  We know that he turned on the interfacing for Galra ships, and that it sent a pulse of energy through him.  But... it wasn't just electricity, or code, or anything like that."

"It was magic," Allura said.  "At least, we think.  I can feel it on the arm.  Some form of quintessence was transferred into it."

Magic.  Shiro's stomach rolled again.  "The commander said the trap was made by Haggar."

"Exactly."  Hunk glanced over at Ryou, shoulders slumped.  "It makes it really hard to follow what she did, though.  We're hoping that whatever changed, the pods will undo it, like any other injury.  Or, if that doesn't work, the energy will wear off soon."

That all sounded so reasonable.  Shiro desperately wanted to believe that when Ryou opened his eyes, it would be with a smile and a joke.

But he couldn't bring himself to believe it.  The universe was never that kind to them.

"What do we do if not?" Shiro asked, forcing his tone to stay even.

There were a series of glances.  "I'm going to ask the rebels what they know about this kind of magic," Matt offered.  He tugged at the folds of his clothes, like he couldn't help fidgeting.  "Lots of species have stuff that humans don't.  They might not be specifically Altean magic, but they might be able to tell us something more."

"We have information on how Altean magic as well," Coran offered.  "I'll go through our databases and see what I can find.  If we found some sort of measure to counter it, Princess Allura may be able to use it."

Allura nodded, though her jaw and shoulders were tense.  "I'm willing to give it a try, if it becomes our best option.  But we'll need to research first and make sure we don't cause extra damage."

"The Blade of Marmora used to have spies with Haggar as well," Keith added, stepping beside him.  "Ulaz, for one.  We can contact Kolivan and see what they might have."

All viable.

Shiro's eyes slid back to Ryou and stuck there.  "Sounds like good places to start.  But hopefully the pods will do it, or he'll just wake up."  

There was a pause, then Lance cleared his throat.  "I actually have another question.  If we can't figure this out today, what do we do about food and water and... all that."

"Oh." Coran paused, smoothing his mustache.  "Yes, that might be an issue.  He didn't respond to any of our voices or requests.  We do have methods of keeping someone hydrated and fed when they're not capable themselves."

"Like an IV," Hunk confirmed, lips pressed thin.  "If we have to.  Shiro, I hate to ask, but do you remember anything about how the commands were given?  Some kind of trigger word or anything?"

Shiro shook his head.  "No, she'd just speak."  Then he paused, frowning.  "But Ryou only seemed to respond to some of it.  Sometimes she'd order and only the bots would listen.  I don't know what the difference was.  It was literally just orders.  Move, restrain..."

Kill.

Flinching, Lance took a deep breath.  He leaned into Hunk's side, who automatically leaned in as well, like they were holding each other up.  After a few seconds, Lance spoke again.  "Let's worry about that when we have to.  I don't really want to order Ryou around like we're his handlers."

"It's better than starving," Pidge offered, still staring stonily at her computer.

"And he seems to follow one order at a time," Shiro said.  "I don't know if it was the wording, or if it was just a design flaw.  But if we can get him to do something else, I'll be able to help keep an eye on him."

Matt's eyes went wide, then softened.   "If we're just waiting for Ryou to wake up, maybe we should all get lunch."

Starting, Hunk looked up at Matt, his brows pulling down.  "You want to-?"  But then he followed Matt's gaze to Shiro and immediately softened.  "Oh.  Yeah."

Apparently, Shiro looked like hell.

Part of Shiro flinched away from that, but the rest of him just didn't care.  Couldn't.  Shiro felt like hell, and not because of his bruises.  That could have so easily have been him, if they'd decided not to test Ryou's integration functionality.  Part of him wished it was.  Then he wouldn’t have to see Ryou like this.

Would he have killed Ryou?  Would he have restrained him and would they both be in this state on that base?

Ryou had promised, though.  He'd told Shiro he'd go all out and make sure he didn't hurt anyone.

Shiro hadn't.  And when it came to it, Shiro hadn't been able to do worse than a kick and a smack to the side of the head.  Even when he was being strangled, Shiro had laid there.

"Lunch it is," Coran said, jumping up.  He half-marched to the door, steps far too perky and enthusiastic to be anything but fake.  He gave Shiro a squeeze to the shoulder as he passed, but otherwise carried on.  "Come along, everyone."

Everyone started to move but Pidge, who didn't pause her typing.  "I'll catch up."

"Pidge," Matt hissed.  "Bring the laptop."

Looking up, Pidge met her brother's gaze, then followed it to Shiro.  With a snap, she shut her computer.  "Curiosity, get the arm, please."

The bot gave a series of chirps, then obediently dropped down closer.  It attached to the arm, and when it came up, the arm came with it, stuck like a magnet.

Pidge watched, her expression slowly crumpling.  Then she ducked her head and walked out quickly, before Shiro could say a word.  Lance and Hunk both shot him smiles, then raced after her.

"You'll be okay?" Keith asked.

"Yeah," Shiro said, though his voice came out rougher than he meant.  "I'd appreciate getting a minute with him.  I'll be out soon." In case he woke up earlier.  Even without his arm, Ryou could do damage to himself or Shiro if he was determined.

Keith looked him over, then nodded and headed out as well, catching up with Allura.  The two of them started to discuss in low, intense voices.  Shiro caught the word 'Mamora' before they slipped out into the hall.

Then all that was left was Matt.  He stepped over and stood next to Shiro, shoulder to shoulder.  He watched Ryou in the pod, head tilted.  "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Shiro said.  "It does."  He glanced over at Matt.  "It's not the same."

"As me and Pidge?  No, it's not.  I remember holding her in the hospital, and how she cried when she fell down learning to walk, and how she used to crawl into my bed when she was sick."  Matt’s lips quirked up, gaze distant.  "I hated that one.  She got me sick every single time.  So, no, it's not the same.  It never would have been, even if you'd been born together.  Twins are different no matter what.  Doesn’t make it easier."

Shiro nodded.  He finally let himself reach up and scrub over his eyes, fighting off the hint of a burn.  "Yeah.  I just-  I let him down, Matt.  I know he would have wanted me to really fight back.  To make sure he didn't hurt me.  But I didn't.  I couldn't.  Hunk had to be the one to knock him out.  I should never have made Hunk do that."

Matt's expression was flat.  "You couldn't fight to kill your brother?  Jeez, Shiro, you're such a bad person.  How will anyone ever forgive you, that you didn't want to strike someone you care about.  How dare you?"

"He promised me!"  Shiro shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.  "He promised me that's what he'd do.  I was- it was a bad night, and he gave me that reassurance. And when it came to it, I couldn't do the same for him."

"That's what he said.  But when push came to shove-"  Matt shook his head.  "Ryou won't be mad at you, okay?  Just focus on helping us fix this.  We're going to get him back, and he's going to need you in one piece."

Shiro nodded slowly, his eyes falling closed.  "Yeah.  I'm not going to fall apart.  I just-  Yeah.  It sucks."

Patting Shiro on the back, Matt sighed.  "Look, all I'm trying to say is that I get it.  Everyone here does, in some way.  If you need help, ask.  We’re worried too."

Unlikely, but Shiro nodded anyway.  "Okay."

The easy answer got him a flat look, but Matt stepped back without comment.  "You want that alone time?"

"Please."

With a last nod, Matt started for the door.  "Call if you need help."

Once he was gone, Shiro let out a long, slow breath.  Then he stepped over to Ryou's pod and rested his forehead against it.  

"You know what's dumb?" He asked.  "Even dumber than freezing up on fighting you.  What's dumb is that it's been an hour, but I already miss you.  You're here, but you're not, and that's so much worse."  He put his hand on the pod.  "Please, Ryou.  Wake up, and then you can tease me and ask for as many favors as you want."

Slowly, Shiro picked his head back up.

Ryou was still asleep.

"Yeah.  Thought so."  He dropped his hand.  "Well, wake up soon anyway.  You managed to weasel your way into being necessary around here.  No sleeping around on the job, okay?"

The only answer was the hum of the pod.

Shiro's eyes burned again.  He closed them hard, then took a deep breath.

It took him several minutes to get control of himself.  Then he put his hand over Ryou’s on the glass, as if imagined contact with it would rouse Ryou.  Then he walked out, heading for the control room.

In this, Shiro was useless.  But while the rest of the team helped Ryou, Shiro would make sure their duties were covered.

That, he could do.

***

On screen, Lance leaned back in his chair, arms spread wide as he spoke.  "So we ducked into the supply closet right?  And I swear to you, Montgomery stopped right in front of it.  We could see her shoes under the gap, like it was a horror movie.  Scariest moment of my life."

"It really was," Hunk added, though he didn't look up from his computer.  Data scrolled quickly, flashes of symbols and numbers that went by in a flash.  "Even after everything else with Voltron."

Lance nodded.  "Totally.  She stops, and kind of turns in place, and you can see her thinking 'I swear I saw something'.  But then she walked away, and I could have cried." He flopped back dramatically, head falling back off the top of his chair.  "And then Hunk chickened out."

"We couldn't get out!  Montgomery's office door was open, and she'd definitely see us next time."

"Ryou, tell Hunk he's a chicken."

Next to both of them, Ryou sat in another chair, his head tilted down.  His hand was folded in his lap, only because someone else had put it there and he hadn't moved since.  Nor had he spoken, or reacted, or twitched at all.

The storytelling had been going for hours.  Shiro kept turning it on to watch and be amazed.  There was plenty to admire Lance and Hunk for, but Shiro didn't think he'd ever been more impressed.  Even if he'd been able to be in the room with Ryou, Shiro didn't think he could act like everything was normal.  Even just looking at him hurt, much less speaking and never getting a reaction.

It was like talking to a puppet with cut strings.

But Lance and Hunk carried on.  They were still hoping that the magic would wear off, since the pod hadn't fixed the issue.  No one wanted Ryou to come out of this alone, so everyone but Shiro had set up shifts.

"Ryou thinks you're a chicken." Lance reported, nodding to him.

Hunk huffed and rolled his eyes.  "Don't put words in Ryou's mouth.  If he thinks that, he can tell me himself.  But he hasn't, so clearly he doesn't."

"Betrayed."  Lance nudged Ryou, who didn't even shift.  "We know you can hear us.  There's part of you right now just waiting to be able to say 'gosh, Hunk, you definitely should have snuck out and had fun with your best friend, the most handsome and kick-ass paladin of them all'.  Right now, that's what you're thinking."

Nothing.

Lance’s jaw tensed, then he looked away, blinking rapidly.

"Didn't you end up getting a detention from Montgomery that week?"  Hunk asked.  He tapped his fingers against the desk, fast and nervous.  The only sigh Shiro had seen thus far of what a toll this had to be having on them.  "What was that one for?"

Lance huffed.  "Not even anything cool.  I snuck in snacks for her class.  It was right before lunch, I got hungry!"

"Yeah, that sucks.  Not as bad as the class after lunch, though.  Harris hated letting us go to the bathroom, remember?"

"Oh, man, screw Harris."

Shiro flicked off the screen, then let out a long sigh.

It had been four hours since they came back, and nothing.  No sign of changes, no improvement, nothing.  Matt had made his inquiries, if in vague terms, and they were waiting to hear back from anyone who might have advice.  Keith hadn't even been able to make contact yet, though he'd tried several times.  

And Shiro had read some reports.  Sorted through data.  Looked for nearby targets.  

Necessary, normal work.

But today it felt hollow.

Sighing, Shiro dismissed the reports, then stood with a groan.  He made his slow way out the door and headed down the hall.  He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but he didn't want to keep sitting around and staring at screens any longer.  Fresh air (kind of) and movement to clear his head.  Enough to focus again, maybe even distract himself for a while.

A yelp echoed down the hall, startling Shiro.  He turned, head tilted, and followed the noise to one of the workshops.  The door was cracked open, letting light through.  Something metal and heavy fell on the other side.  Curious, Shiro pushed it open.  

Inside, Allura ducked under a table and retrieved Ryou's arm.  She set it back down on top and let out a long sigh.  "I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"This is not a simple thing we're asking of you, Princess," Coran said.  He looked up from his pad, then started as he spotted Shiro in the doorway.  "Ah, Number One.  Did you need something?"

"No, I just heard noises."  Shiro stepped in, looking them both over.  Coran's leg was bouncing and his fingers wouldn't stay still on his tablet.  Allura had her hair pulled back in a fluffy ponytail, though strands of it escaped to curl around her face.  Her skin had a layer of sweat, shining in the bright lights of the room.  

Probably magic, then.  Shiro hovered in the doorway, not sure he was welcome.  Allura was very private about her magic, still.  Shiro got the impression she wasn't very comfortable wielding it yes, and didn't want to showcase that.  He sympathized completely. 

"Everything alright?"  He finally asked.  "Or I can leave you be."

Allura shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet.  She swayed slightly, then steadied.  "No, you can come in.  I wish I had more to report.  We thought it would be safer to try to identify the energy on the arm rather than in Ryou, but so far nothing has come of it."

Coran nodded, dropping the tablet into his lap.  "It's not very precise, I'm afraid.  Magic like this tends to be intuitive rather than instructive.  It's capable of amazing things, but it makes it difficult to pick up."

"I believe it," Shiro said.  He met Allura's gaze, tilting his head until she'd look at him.  "If you need to, please take a break.  You don't need to push yourself beyond what’s safe.  We'll get him back soon enough.  It's better to be careful than fast."

For a moment, Allura bristled.  But then she sighed and nodded, shoulders slumped.  She took a deep breath, then let it go slowly.  Her hands shook by her side.  "Yes, you're right.  It's vexing, that Haggar can just  _ do _ this to one of us, and we have no defense.  This should be my area, but..."

"But Haggar has had ten thousand years of practice at being sneaky and evil, and you've only just realized you can do this," Shiro interrupted.

Coran nodded strongly.  "Right you are!  Between all of us, we'll find a way, I'm sure.  Then we'll make sure this never happens again."  He held up the pad, gaze sharpening.  "While the identification and countering is going slowly, our research indicates there's far more we can do to protect from these kinds of intrusions in the first place.  One of the first things we're going to do once Ryou is awake is to make a few adjustments to his arm.  After that, this kind of attack will never be possible again, at least through this method."

At first, the words didn't fully register.  Then Shiro straightened, his own metal hand clenching at his side.  "You think it's that easy?"

"Easy?"  Coran's brows rose.  "Well, no, easy isn't the word I'd use.  It'll require some materials and some fine machining, as well as the princess’ help, which we'll have to practice.  But possible, yes.  And if we can determine what it's doing to his head, we can prevent anything like this from ever occurring, no matter the source."

All the air left Shiro in one breath.  He nodded, eyes closed.  "That would be great.  If you need something to practice on..."  He held out his own hand, brows up.

Regarding him, Coran tilted his head.  "I can also practice on other, non-essential pieces of metal."

Ah, yes.  That was true.  Shiro dropped his hand.  "Yes, well, even so.  Last time, Ryou was your guinea pig with the new arm.  I figured it was my turn."

"Guinea pig?" Coran asked.

Allura's eyes softened as she looked Shiro over.  "If you'd like to go first, I'm sure that won't be a problem.  We'll need to do it to you both anyway.  Since we'll already have you sedated and your arm off for the procedure, maybe there are other adjustments you'd like?"

"Maybe." Shiro set his shoulders, keeping from curling in nervously.  "But that's not the point right now.  Any arm improvements for me isn’t what we should be focusing on right now.  Sorry to distract you."

"You aren't."  Allura used her foot to push out one chair.  "Would you like to watch?  I can't say it's very entertaining, unless you like watching glowing lights and my mounting frustration."

It was a kind offer, especially since Allura liked public struggling as much as Shiro did.  He must really look like hell.  But he shook his head and offered her a thankful smile.  "I appreciate that, but I can probably be more useful elsewhere.  I can't offer any help just sitting there and watching."

"Moral support," Coran offered.  "About what I'm doing."

"You're researching as well," Shiro said.  "I'm just going to continue my walk, then finish up my work.  Good luck with this."

"Thank you," Allura said.  "You're welcome here if you need another break, or if you simply don't want to be alone anymore.  Most of your work you can bring in here, I think."

Shiro shook his head again, still offering a thin but thankful smile.  "I'll see you later."

With that he stepped out, this time closing the door the rest of the way behind him.

Shiro looked down at the palm of his metal hand, tracing the lines and planes with the other.

One day they'd be safe.  Until then, Shiro would do his part. 

***

The rest of the day passed achingly slowly.  Allura and Coran took over for Lance and Hunk's shift.  Ryou finally had to be hooked up to the IV, since he showed no signs of waking up.  

No one could figure out how to get Ryou to sleep, either.  He didn't listen to any commands from them.  They'd tried a variety of tones, most especially from Keith, since he was Galra.  But none of it had gone anywhere.

Right now, the hopeful theory was that Ryou was programmed to respond to anyone visibly Galra.  The Blade had finally sent back a response that they could hold a video call tomorrow, but that tonight they were lying low.  The delay was annoying, but Shiro couldn't find it in himself to really rage.

He just didn't have any hope it would work.  The nature of the enchantment was still a complete mystery.  For all they knew, it was keyed to that specific commander.

Shiro continued to work, covering the communications and negotiations that Allura normally helped handle.  She was working on Ryou, and so Shiro would shoulder whatever amount of work it took.  No of their allies seemed bothered by the switch in representatives, probably because Shiro did so much of the communications himself.  It was the only thing going for them right now.

Eventually, it was late enough to count as morning.   The words were swimming in front of  Shiro's eyes, until it all looked like Altean script rather than translated English.

Time for bed.  Or, at least, staying in his room and giving his tired eyes a break.

Shiro trudged down the hall toward his bedroom, rubbing his aching shoulders, when the sight of light peeking through the door to the general lab stopped him.

With a sigh, he pushed it open.

Four heads swiveled to look at him.  Hunk and Pidge were shoved together in one chair as they looked over a single screen, while Matt sat  on the table, two more floating screens beside him.  Lance took another chair, sitting in it backward and resting his chin on the backrest.

"Still up?" Lance asked, giving a little wave.  "You can join our slumber party."

Shiro stepped inside and closed the door behind him.  "What are you all doing up?"

"Same thing you're doing," Pidge shot back.  She ran a hand through her hair, making the curls even messier.  "Working.  Allura wasn't able to get anywhere with the identification magic stuff, but we're looking over the neurological scans from the pod."

Matt nodded.  "It's interesting, in a sick kind of way.  From his scans, you'd think he really was asleep.  When we say we're trying to get him to wake up, it's almost literal."

Stomach rolling, Shiro took a deep breath.  "That's a good find, but the rest can wait till the morning."

"Seriously?" Hunk asked.  He straightened up, and looked like he wanted to jump out of his chair.  "You really want us to just go to bed like nothing is happening?"

Shiro blinked, hands coming up automatically.  "I'm worried too, but you'll all do better work tomorrow when you're rested."

"No offense, Shiro, but no way."  Pidge reached out and ran her fingers over Curiosity's casing.  The lights flashed in response, and there were a series of soft beeps.  "The sooner we get this done, the better.  Ryou can't stay up like this for long.  It's dangerous.  So if it means we all lose a few hours of sleep, fine."

"Agreed," Matt said. "It's not the first all nighter we've pulled, and it won't be the last.  It's for a good call."  He paused, then added.  "And he'd do it for us."

Lance raised his hand.  "I'm not sleeping even if I go to bed.  Might as well be useful.  The only reason Keith didn't stay up with us is 'cause he's on watch next.  He figured he'd get a couple of hours so he'd be more alert."

Shiro straightened, prepared to remind them that they were paladins.  That if there was an emergency tomorrow, they had to be able to answer and fight properly, not be too exhausted to form Voltron.  They had a duty to the universe, not just to Ryou.

But the words didn't come.  They knew that, and they weren't irresponsible.

Ryou was worth it to them.

Shiro couldn't scold them for that, not when he agreed.

So he sighed and nodded. "Okay.  Just don't overdo it.  When he's better, he doesn't need a bunch of zombies there to greet him."

Matt snapped off a salute.  "Gotcha.  We'll be good.  You joining us or what?"

For a long moment, Shiro considered it.  Then he shook his head.  "No, I need to not look at screens for a little while.  If you're up in a few hours, I might join you."

Hunk finally settled back down, his aggressive posture relaxing.  "I'm sure we'll be here.  Try to rest, okay?  That pod visit is still on the table if you need it."

"Only if we're willing to move Ryou."  Shiro sighed, his shoulders slumping.

There was a beat of silence.  Then Lance stood, rolling his shoulders.  "Can I walk with you to your room?"

Shiro's brows jumped, surprised.  "Sure.  I'll see you all soon."  He stepped to the door so it opened, then gestured for Lance to go through.  Once the door was shut behind him, he tilted his head.  "What's up?"

Lance shrugged, hands slipping into the pockets of his jacket as he walked.  "I just... It sucks, that there's not a lot I can do, you know?  I'm not a techie who can help with all that, and I can coach Allura with her magic but I can't do any of it or help Coran research.  So I've just been kind of hanging out with people, doing what I can."

"You do plenty," Shiro assured him.  "I kept checking in during your shift with Hunk.  You two are amazing.  I hope he wakes up while you two are there.  You're close, and you're the only people who can keep trying to engage with him.  It might even be what wakes him up.”

Ducking his head, Lance smiled.  "I mean, I try. I won't pretend it's easy, because, well, I hate it.  But it's the thing I can do."  He glanced over.  "You can't even do that.  And I'm sure you're working hard, but it's got to suck that you can't even see him unless he's in the pod.  I'm just- I dunno, I'm sorry.  I'd hate it if I couldn't be in the room when my family was hurting."

Shiro's stomach flipped.  He looked away from Lance's shining eyes and bit the inside of his cheek.  "It's not been comfortable.  But the work is still important.  Like I said, the universe still needs us."

"See, I think that's amazing, too," Lance said.  He stepped to the side so he could knock their shoulders together.  "If it's impressive that I can talk to Ryou, then it's impressive that you can focus on anything else.  I can't, not really.  I know that's bad for a paladin, but- he's my friend, and he's hurting."

Eyes closed, Shiro nodded.  "Thank you."

Lance knocked their shoulders together again, this time more gently.  "No problem.  It's true.  I'm sure he'll appreciate it, when he wakes up.  I think the first person he'd want to wake up to would be you."

"Not with his hand around my throat."

The footsteps stopped.  Lance let out his breath in one long gust.  "Damn, Shiro."

"Sorry."  Shiro glanced back, offering a thin smile.  "It's true, though."

"Maybe."  Lance's footsteps caught back up, and he gave Shiro a pat on the middle of the back.  "Try to get a couple of hours, okay?  It's been a long day."

Shiro nodded.  "For all of us.  And really, thank you.  I appreciate you talking to me."

Smiling back, Lance shrugged.  "Ryou would want me to.  And I wanted to.  Night, Shiro."

"Good night, Lance."

Closing the door behind him, Shiro kicked off his boots, then collapsed into bed.  He didn't even bother to pull up the blanket yet, just stared up at the dark ceiling and took deep breaths.

He had only shared a bed with Ryou once.  They'd slept together on the couch a few times, mostly napping when they were both badly sick.  But right now, Shiro would have given anything to have Ryou snoring next to him.

How had it even come to this?  Shiro had been so prepared to distrust and dislike Ryou.  Sure, he got along with Lance, and he seemed mostly friendly with everyone.  But he'd been a living version of the way Shiro's body was constantly used and changed without his consent.  A clone, and one that had earned Keith's discomfort at that.  Then he'd been obnoxious on top of it - loud, snickering,  _ open  _ in a way that used to send shivers up Shiro's spine.  It was his face, his voice, his body, but being used in ways Shiro wouldn't.

But Ryou wouldn't stay in that box.  He was persistently, irritatingly helpful and caring.   He wouldn't let anyone forget he was a clone, but refused to be defined by it.  He became his own person, and then became someone Shiro cared about.  And even when Shiro hurt him and hid things from him, Ryou cared about him back.

It shouldn't have been possible, for someone to become Shiro's brother at this age, especially given Ryou's circumstances.  Yet here they were.

Groaning, Shiro pulled his pillow to his chest and buried his face in it.

Inevitably, his thoughts drifted back to this morning.  The moment when Ryou put his hand on the console and collapsed.  Turning around and seeing Ryou behind him, realizing he was attacking him.  The blank, awful look on his face as he struck again and again, so unlike himself.  How he obeyed the orders of the commander, even when doing it would put him in the clutches of someone trying to experiment on him.

Why did he listen to that commander?  Was it part of the magic, built in as part of Haggar's trap?  Was it that she was full Galra, and no one on the ship looked right?  Even a shifted Allura just looked like a tall, purple Altean, not a real Galra.

There had been no phrasing in common between them, and her tone for every word had been different each time, from smug to furious.  Her wording-

Well, no, Shiro didn’t actually know her exact wording.  It had been in Galran.

....It had been in  _ Galran.   _

Shiro sat up breath catching.  Then he closed his eyes and focused as hard as he could on the memory.  Instead of focusing on the meaning he'd heard, the English that the translators provided, he focused on her mouth making the words.

They didn't know what was different between how she'd ordered Shiro and how she'd ordered the robots because Shiro literally couldn't hear the difference.

If it was the kind of Galran that Ryou understood, either it was baked into his head from Haggar, or it was the dialect of Galran that Shiro had heard during his captivity.  The kind that Ryou could still haltingly speak, when called upon.

Shiro shoved himself off the bed.  Without bothering to put on shoes, he sprinted out into the hallway, not stopping until he reached the pod room.  Then he knocked, hard and persistent.

The door opened, only wide enough for Keith to squeeze through.  He shut it behind him, then frowned at Shiro.  "What's wrong?  What are you doing here?"

"I need you to restrain Ryou."

Keith paused, blinking rapidly.  "Why?" 

"I want to try something.  I was thinking and-"  Shiro shifted from foot to foot.  "Please, I don't want to have to explain it.  It'll take five minutes to try my plan, and then I can go back to bed if it doesn't work.  I have to give it a shot.  Please."

"I-"  Keith shook his head, clearing it.  "Yeah.  Sorry, still tired.  I'll do it.  I might take a minute, since I'm not sure how restraining him will work with the bed we put in here, but- yeah, give me a bit."  With that, he ducked back inside.

Shiro bounced on his heels, unable to hold still.  He knew very little of the Galran that Ryou remembered.  Some words had come back in dreams, and absolutely none of the grammar.  Maybe Keith knew more, but there had to be different kinds of Galran, and he had no way of knowing if anything Keith spoke was the right kind.

Finally, Keith opened the door again.  He cast a nervous glance back, then moved out of the way.  "Okay, come on in.  But be careful, and if it looks like he's about to slip free, get out."  He clenched his Mamora blade tightly.

"I got it."  Shiro took a deep breath, fortifying himself.  Then he stepped inside.

Ryou sat on the bed, his head still bent down.  It looked like at some point he'd been laying out, but he'd been hastily propped up so that Keith could handcuff him to the headboard.

There was no reaction.  But then Shiro stepped forward, and the sound of footsteps seemed to register.  Ryou's gaze flickered up, then snapped onto Shiro.

Immediately, he started to strain on the cuffs.  They creaked and screeched as metal dragged against metal, and Ryou yanked on his arm in a way that had to hurt his shoulder.  But there was no pain, no frustration, no anger on his face.  Just that blank stare.

Shiro took one more step forward, heart pounding.   _ "Still." _

Ryou stopped.  He froze in place completely, as if every muscle in his body had locked up.

Stepping forward, Keith sucked in a breath.  "What are you doing?  Why is he listening to you?"

"It's in Galran," Shiro said, not taking his eyes off Ryou.  His expression was still blank, but he seemed steadier now.  Focused.  Attentive.  "A specific dialect, I think.  The kind they used around prisoners."

Keith swallowed hard and nodded.  "That helps.  Can you get him to sleep?"

"No," Shiro said, stepping forward again.  "I think I'm going to get him to wake up.  Give me a minute?  I'll yell if I need you."

Hesitating, Keith frowned.  "What if he snaps again?"

"He's listening to me.  He won't."

Keith still didn't move for a moment.  Then he sighed and nodded.  "I'll give you five minutes, okay?"

That was plenty, so Shiro nodded.  He waited until Keith was out of the room, then sat down on the edge of the bed.  Then he cleared his throat, pulling together the few words he had.   _ "Lean back.  Hurt arms.” _

Without so much as a blink, Ryou settled back against the headboard, no longer straining his shoulders.

The simplicity of the movement was  _ eerie. _  Mindless.  Helpless.  In this moment, Ryou was utterly at the mercy of his handler, vulnerable to any kind of abuse without a word of protest or struggle.

Shiro bit back bile.

_ “Time is day." _

No response.  Ryou continued to stare.

_ "Day.  You must move." _  When Ryou started to shift, Shiro hissed.  "No, no, not-  _ no.  Move no. Stop.  You wake.  Wake!" _  That was the word.  

Still no reaction.  

Shiro groaned, then moved closer again.  He stayed tensed, prepared to move if Ryou struck, but he made no move to try and hit again.  

Then, slowly, he pressed their foreheads together.

Ryou jolted, just slightly, but that was all.

_ "Wake," _ Shiro said, voice thickening.   _ "Wake.  Want you.  You..." _  There was no word that Shiro knew for what Ryou was.  He'd never heard Galra call each other siblings, except in more metaphorical, warrior terms.  He had no idea how well that translated, and it wasn't what he wanted to get across anyway.   _ "Mine.  My... two.  Reflection.  Clan reflection.  Please wake.  Weak without reflection." _

Barely perceptibly, Ryou shifted against Shiro's forehead.  He blinked several times in a row.

"You're my twin," Shiro said, switching again.  He wanted to use Japanese, but Ryou's memory of the language was rusty.   They really needed to work on that.

First, Ryou needed to wake up.

Reaching up, Shiro cupped Ryou's cheek.  "Please wake up.   _ Wake, clan reflection." _

There was another slight movement, like Ryou was cocking his head.  Then his shoulders rolled, and his hands twitched against the blanket.

Finally, Ryou picked up his head.  He blinked slowly, like he'd just been roughly woken from a deep sleep.

"Shiro?" He murmured, slightly slurred.  "How did...?  We were... On the base.  When did we...?"

Then he stiffened, eyes going wide with horror.

Shiro shot forward and pulled him into a fierce hug.  A tap to the cuffs deactivated them, freeing Ryou so he could collapse against Shiro.  "You're okay," he breathed, rocking them both like Ryou had done to him just a few days ago.  "You're back.  It's okay, it's all okay.  Everyone's fine."

The fingers of Ryou's single remaining hand clutched at Shiro's vest as he took a deep, wet sounding gulp of air.  "I- I hurt you.  With the arm.  I tried to...  _ Shiro!" _

"It wasn't you," Shiro said.  He pulled Ryou in even closer, until his brother was nearly in his lap.  "It wasn't you, it's okay.  I'm barely bruised.  I'm just glad you're back.  I missed you."

Ryou pressed his face into Shiro's shoulder, shuddering violently.  "I'm sorry.  I'm sorry, I never wanted to do that, I didn't want to hurt you.  I s-strangled- I'm sorry!  I should-" He started to pull away, breathing coming fast and ragged.  “Could have  _ killed _ you.”

But Shiro didn't let him, pulling him right back down and petting over his hair.  "No.  No no no, shh.  Ryou, it's okay, I'm okay.  Just breathe.  Don't leave, no, it's okay.  Shhhh, you're okay."

Ryou struggled for another moment, then went limp against him.  He let out several ragged, painful sounding sobs and squirmed like he was trying to fit further into Shiro's lap.  Despite being identical in size, he folded himself up into an impressively small amount of space, managing to mostly fit.  "I'm sorry.  I’m  _ sorry. _  Shiro,  _ please.” _

"It's not your fault.  We just wanted you back.  I'm so glad, Ryou.  We didn't know-"  Shiro's eyes burned as well, welling suddenly and strong.  He pressed his face to Ryou's hair and took a deep breath of his own, trying to control it.

This time, it didn't work.  Tears slipped out, splashing down into that ridiculous dye job.

Behind them, the door opened.  There was a pause, then it shut again without footsteps or interruption.  Shiro sent his mental thanks to Keith, then continued to hold and rock his brother, whispering soothing words and shushing him gently.

Slowly, Ryou's sobs slowed, and Shiro's tears dried.  Once his brother was still, Shiro switched to soothing up and down his back.  "There's lots of people who want to see you're better, you know.  Everyone’s been worried."

Ryou let out a watery laugh.  "Yeah, I bet.  Everyone's okay? I know people have been in here.  It's kinda... blurry.  When I wasn't doing something."

More memories taken from Ryou.  Shiro's stomach rolled with temper, and he hoped that the commander got squished under Yellow's paws during their escape.  It was what she deserved.

"You want to see them?  I think everyone is still up and working."

There was a pause.  "Yes.  But I'm not sure I'll be good company.  I'm tired."  Ryou shifted, his cheek pressed to Shiro's shoulder.  Despite his words, his voice was small, and he was still shivering like the room was freezing.

Ryou had been cold when he woke up from his nightmare, before.  He’d just woken up from a different kind of nightmare now.  No wonder he was shaking.

Shiro continued to pet, rubbing his hand up and down to warm him.  "You don't have to.  It's late, and I can just tell everyone you want to go to bed.  They can wait till morning.  It's only a few hours."

"I shouldn't.  They were-"  Ryou paused, his voice cracking. "Scared."

Shiro considered.  The team would probably want to see Ryou for themselves, especially after all that hard work.  He was their family too, and they’d all been worried sick.

But earlier today, he'd tried to talk about putting the universe first.  About being responsible as paladins.

Well, screw that.  Right now, Shiro was putting Ryou first.  If there was one thing Ryou had kept from Shiro, it was the tendency to put himself last and to neglect his needs.  Ryou had been good about not letting Shiro do that, and it was time for Shiro to repay the favor.

"They were scared for you.  But don’t worry about it.  Bed," Shiro decided.  "I'll send a message, if Keith hasn't already told them.  But you're going to sleep."

Ryou let out a quiet whine of protest, but didn't even manage words.  He melted further into Shiro's side.  "Okay."  He pressed his face into Shiro’s shoulder, and he could feel tears drip into the fabric.

Yeah, this was definitely the right call.  Shiro bundled Ryou up, then stood with a grunt.  He was still tired, and he nearly stumbled to the side under the weight, but he caught himself.  "My room?"

"Really?"  Ryou picked his head up.  He had to blink rapidly to keep focused.  "That smart?  Gunna have nightmares."

"Who better?"

Ryou hummed at the repeat of his own reasoning, but still didn't look convinced.

Shiro sighed.  "Please, Ryou.  This is for me too.  I don't want you alone, and I- I had to avoid you all day.  I need to see you're safe.  Please."

Finally, Ryou relaxed again.  He nodded against Shiro's shoulder, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.  "Okay.  Yeah.  That's good."

With that, Shiro carried Ryou back down the hall, walking through the door he'd left open in his haste.  Once Ryou was laying on the bed, Shiro sent out a quick message - 'he's awake, with me, sleeping now' - then collapsed back down next to him.  

Immediately, Ryou squirmed in, tucking under Shiro's chin and wrapping his remaining arm around.  Shiro pulled him in closer, relaxing all at once.

A thought struck.

“Hey, Ryou?   _ Touch nose.” _

There was a pause.

“Why?”

Oh, thank  _ fuck. _

Shiro pulled him in closer, pressing his face into Ryou’s hair.  Tears forced past his eyelids, dripping into the strands.  “Nevermind.”

It was over.  Ryou was awake.

They were safe, and they were together.

Shiro pressed a kiss to Ryou's forehead, barely a sleepy brush of lips to skin.  "Love you, little brother."

The arm tightened around him.  "Love you too."

Like that, safe in the darkness, together and themselves, they were able to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> So, fun fact, there's a Bad Ending version floating around in my brain where both of them get captured and the team has to go get them.
> 
> : D
> 
> But for now, enjoy! I hope you've enjoyed this wild ride as much as I have. And here's hoping we get some canonical Shirogane Twins in an upcoming season.
> 
> If you want more of this verse, check out the [Adjacent Series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/892047)


End file.
